HTC EVO 3D review

The HTC EVO 4G is definitely one of Sprint’s most popular smartphones. In fact, even almost a year after its release, it’s still selling like hotcakes. Sprint faced serious demand issues with the EVO 4G well after the launch, and the nation’s first 4G smartphone is still one of the best. Let’s talk about the HTC EVO 3D, though. The follow up to the original HTC EVO 4G is packed to the brim with features, and will be the first 3D-capable device on the market when it launches. Is the HTC EVO 3D a better phone than the original EVO 4G? Does the addition of a 3D display add real value to the phone or is it just a headache-inducing novelty, as it is on other portable devices? Hit the break to find out.

Hardware / Display

The HTC EVO 3D builds on the original EVO 4G in every way possible. It’s thinner, it feels better in the hand, and it’s way more powerful. While the first EVO featured a 1GHz processor, the EVO 3D runs a smoking 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm CPU with a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 qHD display, dual 5-megapixel cameras around back for 3D photo and HD video capture, 1080p HD video playback, a front-facing camera, and a whopping 1,730 mAh battery.

The device stays true to some of the first EVO’s styling cues while introducing a much more refined, almost retro look if you will — at least from the back. The front of the device sports an anodized black aluminum frame and the Android menu buttons below the screen look almost identical to the original 4G device. An addition this time around is a dedicated two-step camera shutter button on the right side complete with 2D / 3D switch to toggle 3D capture for photos and video. While a dedicated camera shutter button is great, I’d actually have preferred one a little smaller, as I hold the device in my right hand mainly when I’m using it and the shutter button can get in the way sometimes.

You’ll also find a volume up/down key on the right side. On the left side you’ll see a lone microUSB port, and toward the top of the EVO 3D there’s a 3.5mm headset jack and a power button. Unfortunately, the power button has little to no tactile feedback, and it makes locking and unlocking the EVO 3D somewhat tedious. The EVO 3D feels incredibly solid and well-built though, and while the diagonal grooved pattern on the rear battery cover could be considered distracting at times, it feels worlds better than the EVO 4G.

The display on the HTC EVO 3D is an interesting subject. On one hand the display is pretty sharp, colors look great, and it’s decently bright. On the other, because of the 3D stereoscopic screen overlay, it’s not as sharp as other HTC devices like the Sensation 4G. More on that shortly.

Software

The EVO 3D runs HTC’s latest Sense 3.0 user interface, which is identical to the HTC Sensation 4G I recently reviewed. As such, there’s not much need to go over everything again. In the case of Sprint’s new EVO, Sense blends its nifty 3D effect with an actual 3D-capable display making for a much more cohesive experience for consumers. I was actually a tad bit disappointed that more of the device wasn’t “3D” at first, as I figured HTC and Sprint would extend the 3D capabilities beyond just photo / video capture, and video playback. Instead, I haven’t noticed much if any difference between the Sensation 4G and the EVO 3D as far as HTC’s UI is concerned. Regardless, the 3D effects on HTC Sense 3.0 are decent enough.

3D

While 3D televisions are still lackluster, glasses-free 3D works much better on a mobile device in my opinion. One of the great things about the EVO 3D is that the screen doesn’t require you to wear glasses to view 3D content (can you imagine having to wear a pair of 3D glasses when looking at your smartphone?). The stereoscopic screen is decent. It’s two panels that make one, in straight up terms, and you have to have a perfect viewing angle in the middle of the device for it to work, otherwise you’ll see two images overlaid on each other and won’t get the actual 3D effect.

After using the device for around 10 minutes on and off, I finally got the hang of the perfect positioning, and 3D content looks good, not great. The effect seems pretty natural, though the screen itself has what looks like ridged scan lines running through the display. It’s not always overly noticeable, but I’m someone who notices something if it’s off by a pixel, and this screen sort of looks like those old hologram baseball cards that you’d turn left to right to see an animated scene.

As far as the 3D content, you have the ability to capture 5-megapixel images in 3D or 720p HD video in 3D. With an HDMI-out port that also doubles as a microUSB port, throwing your 3D content onto a 3D-capable TV or display couldn’t be easier: just connect that micro-HDMI cable and you’re good to go. I like the ability to sort of future-proof your content by taking 3D stills and videos.

The EVO 3D also comes preloaded with The Green Hornet movie in HTC’s Watch movie service for free, though I couldn’t get it to load no matter how hard I tried. I kept getting a “downloading license” message and no movie, but hopefully this issue is ironed out ahead of launch. There’s also a 3D Spiderman game that looks pretty decent, though it’s more of an arcade-style ordeal. Besides other 3D games available to purchase from Gameloft, YouTube now supports 3D content on the EVO 3D, and there is a little icon next to the video letting you know it’s available in 3D.

Phone / Speakerphone

Using the phone on the EVO 3D hasn’t been the best experience. Phone calls sounded distorted most of the time with the earpiece speaker, callers sounded hollow and thin, and volume wasn’t too great either. Signal reception is a different story, as the EVO 3D performs great in this department. Sprint service typically isn’t incredible, but the way the EVO 3D latches onto signals make it that much better.

The rear speaker on the EVO 3D performs pretty well. It’s pretty loud, though it lacks some low and mid-range oomph and it lacks projection as well. The speakerphone fares about the same — it’s loud, but not that loud, and it’s a little flat.

Battery

The EVO 3D packs a huge 1,730 mAh battery, and while you’d think that was enough, you kind of have to think again with a 4G-capable device. In 3G mode the EVO lasts for up to a day with moderately-heavy usage. With 4G WiMAX on and connected, however, that quickly drops to around 4-5 hours of on and off usage. It’s better than the first EVO, but it’s definitely not ideal. If you don’t live in a 4G service area, the EVO 3D should be able to get your through a day under normal circumstances. Light up 4G, and you’ll probably have to recharge some time in the early afternoon unless your phone just sits idle on your desk all day.

Conclusion

HTC’s EVO 3D is the first device to hit the market in the U.S. with a stereoscopic 3D display, but that’s just an added feature. At the end of the day, the EVO 3D is a better, faster, thinner, lighter, and more capable EVO 4G. The battery life is slightly better, the screen has been improved, there’s a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1080p HD video capture, and plenty more. The 3D part is just a nice add-on.

I actually liked being able to take photos and videos in 3D and play them back right on the device. I also enjoyed hooking the phone up to my 3D television and playing back the content in 3D. Like I said earlier, I like future-proofing content, and I’d rather have 3D content that 2D content if I can.

It took a couple days for the HTC EVO 3D to grow on me — from the build and design, to the user interface, to the 3D aspect — but after spending a week with it, I can confidently say this is my favorite Sprint phone, hands down. The Motorola Photon 4G is interesting, and from what I saw I liked it a lot. The EVO 3D, however, offers a complete end-to-end Android experience with HTC’s Sense 3.0 UI, and coupled with improvements in every area over the original EVO 4G, plus the ability to capture and view 3D content, it makes for one hell of a compelling package.

The HTC EVO 3D will be available from Sprint for $199 with two-year agreement starting June 24th.

WOW BGR AN EVO 3D REVIEW????? We were still waiting on the first EVO REVIEW!!!!!!

Cer

Did you ever know that you’re my hero?

Bringit

YEAH! BGR ONLY HAS LIKE 4 DIFFERENT ANDROID REVIEWS TODAY!!! GET OFF THE APPLE DICK ALREADY BGR! MORE ANDROID MORE ANDROID! BIGGER AND MORE IS BETTER WITH ANDROID!

Anonymous

Im sure your post is a great way to get them to do so. Child

Skullzloyd

they’re on apple’s dick BECAUSE THEY MAKE GOD PRODUCTS you’re Android phones BLLOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW

SWEETPEAMORRISON

How to you known if you never had one !? HMMM!

http://twitter.com/kkc_kr3w Kyle Ibbotson

I know huh? iBGR did a review on an android device with out comparing it to a damn i*hone. Congrates! I miss the old BGR.

gmoney240

well firstly i am a webos fan before we even get started, but realistically y do they compare it to the iphone? thats because its one phone that sells more than any other phone in the world. i think thats a pretty good basis for comparison. is it the correct way to do things? no. is it the best phone on the market? some may think so but not me. its an easy os that even a child can use, however i have to agree with ur frustration on this matter because it is sickening to hear EVERYTHING be compared to the iphone. just figured i would interject here from a non-biased POV

Jedy617

Meh, I like the Photon better.

http://www.facebook.com/moondrius Nolan Smith

The Evo 3d looks great but its too bad it is on Sprint. Sprint 4g has not been expanded at all in Baltimore since the first evo launched. I am still about a mile away from being able to connect after a whole year.

Scott

At least you have it in your state… come to Arizona… no WiMax to be found here. Pretty pathetic!

Damon Duerr

It’s in Tucson, and a few spots around Phoenix. I’ve used it in both places. Don’t trust the Sprint maps, either. While you think they would update them as soon as they could show better coverage, they don’t.

Anonymous

Wow…..I live near BWI and Service is stellar from there all the way to White Marsh. I think youre just bitter.

http://twitter.com/PhilR8 Phil Reese

No, Nolan is correct. I don’t think 4G service in Baltimore has been improved since the original Xohm rollout back in 2008. I live in the city – actually inside of Baltimore city – and I do not have 4G coverage. You can drive the beltway and watch the 4G signal bars on your phone and you’ll notice many 4G dead zones. In your case, you drove straight up 95 – one of the busiest highways in the country – so of course you had constant signal strength. Every carrier works awesomely on 95. Take a trip around the rest of the area and see how well the 4G signal holds up.

Guest

4G-SchmoreG….I live in the Catonsville area, just outside Bmore City. Sprint coverage maps show I’m in a 4g area, yet I have never been able to connect to 4g from home on either of our EVOs since day-1. Sprint claims the maps are accurate to ‘street level’, which means individual homes on a given street may or may not get coverage. I’ve walked the entire block and there is zero 4g signal anywhere, yet the maps show that we’re covered. I’ve done this several times over the last year and nothing has changed. Can’t even get a signal from our rooftop, a 3-story building! I shared all this info w/Sprint tech support in an effort to have them drop the $10 premium data charge to no avail. Anyway, we still love our EVOs and are looking forward to the 3D.

Anonymous, Thank You

You’re not getting rid of that Premium Data fee. The Premium Data fee is exactly that: an extra fee because you are likely to need to use a lot of data due to the fact a smartphone revolves around data. The Premium Data fee applies to ALL smartphones (Android, Windows Mobile, WebOS, etc.), so even if you don’t get WiMax coverage, they cannot waive that fee. Previously the fee solely applied to phones that had WiMax capabilities, so it was often given the misnomer, “4G fee.” I always told people not to call it that. I know people who still call it that even though it applies to all smartphones. XD

I haven’t tried 4G, but I’m also in Baltimore. My cousin has an Evo, and she never complained about not getting 4G, but then again, I never asked if she got it. I might get this. I don’t do much social networking, but I browse the internet a lot, and trust me, I do mean a LOT.

Maybe they’ll improve out coverage with this phone, but I doubt it. I wonder if Towson has coverage for 4G.

The thing that puzzles me is that I have seen almost no advertising for the Evo 3D. I guess they’re relying on it to advertise itself. Everyone I know that has an Evo knows about the new one. When it comes out, the people using it will be more than enough advertising. Not only will people ask about it, but I’m sure everyone will brag about their brand new Evo 3D. Hopefully that (and Sprint stocking them well) will reduce the stores that are sold out.

Anyway (after my babbling….), I can’t wait for this phone! Goodbye little world; I must leave to go to sleep now!

Cer

I don’t believe your battery life review, unless Sense 3.0 is a battery-hogging monster. We’re talking about a 1700+ mAh battery. I’m guessing Mr. BGR only charged the phone once or twice and then wrote his review. The Engadget and This Is My Next reviews will be better and significantly more in-depth.

Anonymous

it is the Wimax, EVO 4G had similar battery life. Sense 3.0 is not a battery-hogging as Sensation’s battery last for more than a day.

Cer

So you didn’t read my comment. Got it. You do realize the 3D’s battery is
significantly larger than the 4G’s.

Scott

Go read Engadget’s review. They slammed the battery far worse. It gets drained because of WiMax and 3D.

Cer

Yeah, reading it right now. One would think that without 3D the battery life
would last longer than the EVO 4G, though, simply based on size.

Anonymous

Eng….”it only took 14 hours and 44 minutes to drain the beefy 1730mAh battery
down to 7%. We barely used the handset during that time — we made a
15-minute call and slept 6 hours.” “This is particularly surprising when you consider the Sensation’s stellar battery life.”
Probably is the 3D technology also

Cer

We don’t need to argue. It seems that the battery life is pretty bad for
whatever reason, judging by other reviews. It just seems strange.

But I am right to view BGR’s reviews with skepticism. They’re the worst I
encounter. Engadget’s always seems to be the best.

Damon Duerr

She had all of the radios on for her battery test at Engadget. Who leaves 4G/WiFi and GPS on 24/7?

http://profiles.google.com/jayq330 Jonathan Oquendo

engadget will slam anything that doesnt have an apple icon on it, especially if its a good smartphone. just like they did to the galaxy s.

Anonymous

Eng….”it only took 14 hours and 44 minutes to drain the beefy 1730mAh battery
down to 7%. We barely used the handset during that time — we made a
15-minute call and slept 6 hours.” “This is particularly surprising when you consider the Sensation’s stellar battery life.”
Probably is the 3D technology also

http://profiles.google.com/jayq330 Jonathan Oquendo

me either not only is the battery a monster but other sites have stated the batter would last a whole day abusing the phone with 3D movies & 4G, on top of that the dual processor is asynchronous which means that you can overclock the processor all the way to 1.5ghz (1.2 is actually underclocked) anyway you can have it at 1.5ghz & it wont kill the battery because it only uses what it needs. just like linux & windows only use what they need & if they need more theyll use more, currently the snapdragon 8660 is the only dual processor SOC on the market that has that tech built in. hell you could put it up to 1.8ghz & the good thing is it wont the whole 1.8ghz if its not needed where the other dual processors run at full speed even for a small app.

http://twitter.com/judsontwit Judson

4-5 hour battery life? Even Verizon’s Charge can make it a whole day on LTE, reportedly. What is wrong with WiMax?

Anonymous

LTE and Wimax use 2 radios for their “4G” So the radio is constantly switching between them. Specially if your in poor reception areas. This takes a huge toll on battery life. HSPA+ “4G” uses 1 radio and doesnt drain battery like Verizon and sprints “4G”

jk

Give it time, Sprint will change over to LTE

Anonymous

LTE has the same issues for battery life as WiMax. See: Verizon

http://profiles.google.com/jayq330 Jonathan Oquendo

there lte will be a 20mhz up & 20mhz down! it’ll be 2 times the bandwidth that verizons lte has, they have so much spectrum that they can even go up to 50mgz up & down! do you know what speeds thatll give? 20 up & down would give close to 70mb down & 50mb up & thats not science lab speeds, the theoretical speeds of 20mhz are 150mbs, but real world speeds are about 70down & 50up.plus they’ll use both wimax & lte on phone giving you unlimited wimax use for streaming video’s & LTE would probably be capped & used for voice & quick downloads.

Anonymous

Sensation > EVO 3D

Dman2123

LOL not even close.

http://twitter.com/SParKlngCyaNide SparklingCyanide

Actually inhuman is correct.

Oreo

I can officially say that the Sensation is a stellar device. Even though the whites when compared to my mytouch 4G are a little yellowish, but I’m hoping its just the device I picked up today. While I do say that the Evo 3D is cool device its said in Engadget’s and Bgr’s review the battery is hog due to 3D. As I’ve said it before I am glad I picked up the Sensation rather than wait for a gimmick.

http://profiles.google.com/jayq330 Jonathan Oquendo

some phones have the yellowish white’s, the one i have doesnt have that problem i got lucky. some people returned & exchanged there evo until they got one that had pure white. if you see the 3D videos & pictures youll see that when someone sends you an mms message in 3d its way better than a regular pic, & watching green hornet was great the smoke & explosions seemed to pop out of the screen, i wouldnt call it a gimmick but more of a feature,ability,option. and watch some demo’s in the youtube app search “YT3D enabled” & youll see some crazy stuff. i was thinking of replacing sense 3.0 with something lighter because it is a hog,but it has so much options & i mean alot of options! that are useful but takes up about 500mb’s or ram! i wonder if i installed cyanogen 7, how much faster the phone would be.

Cer

Yeah, 3D is a battery-draining gimmick.

Dman2123

You my friend have a lot to learn. I have been in the cellphone game for well over 10 years now. Just wait and see how much of a gimmick it is once all the devs get a hold of this device and all the other carriers have a 3D device also to compete. I remember reading about the ipad 3D but Apple must not know anything either.

Cer

Aw, thanks friend. As an Android phone user, I’m looking forward to the
increasing fragmentation of Android along 2D and 3D lines. I’m good with 2D
for now.

I’m sure the porting of iPad 3D games to Android is going to be quick and
easy.

http://profiles.google.com/jayq330 Jonathan Oquendo

just like 4G has a switch so does 3D, 3D is only enabled if a file has a certain line of code letting it know that its a 3D file. so its not running 3D all the time the way they try & portray it to be.

Mike20pr

EVO’s 1GB RAM vs 768 and bigger battery says otherwise…

im kinda dissapointed they cut corners on the Sensation compared to EVO since the extra RAM might have helped it a lot since Sense 3.0 is so bloated. I mean, under 200mb left after a fresh reboot??

Anonymous

-The extra RAM is most likely to handle the gimmicky 3D.
-About the bigger battery: Did you read the review? Battery life on the EVO 3D seems to suck. In the Sensation review(s) , They state that the battery life is pretty good (even though it has a smaller battery). 1-2 days worth of battery life (usage varies). Even though they used a bigger battery , WiMax drains the battery (like LTE) does. because of them having to use 2 separate radios for 4G and 3G. Sensation doesnt have this problem due to it using HSPA+
-Sensation is also thinner, slimmer, and lighter than the EVO 3D.
-Sensation has a higher MP Camera (8mp vs. 5mp), that records 1080p video @ 30 fps as opposed to 24 fps on the EVO 3D.
– Also the screen seems to look better on the Sensation according to reviews of both phones.

Anonymous

3d can be turned off. Its not part of the UI so it wouldn’t use any RAM.

Anonymous

Galaxy S II > Sensation > Evo 3D

Anonymous

yes, that seems correct

Anonymous

Well said! The back of the Evo look kinda cheap compared to the sensation. It looks really plasticy like samsung phones.

Cer

Gotta give a big LOL about “future-proofing” pictures by taking them in 3D. Amazing!

That’s it? While it certainly wasn’t a bad review, it’s not the in depth review I was hoping for considering the Pioneering Original EVO wasn’t reviewed at all. It’s as if BGR begrudgingly submitted a review for the EVO 3D then went back to write another article on iOS5 : Day 46

Sad.

Cer

It’s Day 46 already? Oh man, I need to catch up fast!

Anonymous

When the EVO becomes the bestselling smartphone in the world it will get more review time than the iPhone. Until then, you’re just going to have to deal with more iPhone stories.

Razeudejavu

did HTC ever fix the light leakage problem at the bottom of the Evo 4G? I had to return 2 Evo’s because the bottom of the glass screen was actually lifting off of the phone… I’m glad to see the phone still selling well because I love Sense, but if I ever want to look at this new one I hope they resolved the issue above.

Cer

Don’t worry. Every possible problem with the EVO 4G’s and Sensation’s hardware will be covered in significant depth by BGR. They’ll probably end up spilling more ink on things like that than they did for (what they call) each phone’s “review”

http://twitter.com/fyrfyter33 fyrfyter33

Nice proof-reading. What exactly is a dial-core anyways?

Homer Simpson

Two bars of soap jammed together.

Anonymous, Thank You

Lmao!

http://profiles.google.com/jayq330 Jonathan Oquendo

i think its that new dual chip for dialing numbers..:P

http://claimid.com/155/ 155

Is the bootloader locked? I want a phone that will run Cyanogen.

Homer Simpson

Open bootloader

Anonymous

Good Job BGR. Good Job. I’m dying to see a EVO 3D/PHOTON comparison.

Anonymous

lol from reading this I was expecting a bad review.
Then he says it’s his favorite Sprint phone.
I’m a little confused…
ps. Where is the Sprint SGS2???

Anonymous

To the people that complain about the lack of an “in-depth” review, remember this is the crew that didn’t even review the EVO 4G so this is a huge step for them.

Anonymous

Think I will hold onto my Evo 4G for a little while longer now, no biggie, its still a beast and holding it down :)

http://twitter.com/kenypowa Ken K.

This is a much better written review than the Engadget one. This has balanced information with actual pros/cons of the phone. The real question is, EVO 3D, Sensation or GSII?

http://www.thetechtemple.com The Tech Temple

Are more people going to get this, or wait for the Photon?

Steve

How is the camera and video compare to the 8 megapixel camera for the evo 4g?

Lowell Mcadam

For the second year in a row, HTC has put out the must have device. Anyone with a brain knows that this is the phone to buy, it will undoubtedly be better than everything else that comes out for the forseeable future (apple especially) . People with brains also know that Sprint is the biggest secret in the cell phone industry.

Less traffic + more spectrum = Unlimited Data for everybody. Not that tiered shit that your Nazi carrier is forcing down your throat.

Hollywoodjay

Hey guys. I’ve been planning on purchasing this phone since I heard of its anticipated release. So far, the CALL QUALITY reviews are terrible for demo accounts. Does anyone out there with cell phone knowledge think that will improve when it hits the retail market on June 24th?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JNKVTT7PJMXPYP2GVCIERBQQCU Andrew

Will this battery fit in the Sensation?

http://twitter.com/cezeOne cezeOne

This review was put together in a much more robust manner than some other websites. Thank you for being honest and taking an in depth look at a true powerhouse device. While 3D might not be for every device. This one implements it well enough to see it’s not a gimmick.

Johnny Rotten Crotch

So you spend a few days on just ios 5 and make it an event? You give the EVO 3D what 24 hours and not even that? You call this a tech blog? You guys never even reviewed the original EVO. I guess it’s true what they say about BGR. It’s all Apple all the time. Atleast change the name you BGR brought to you by Apple.